Hamas and Fatah to Kiss, Make Up?

Egyptian intelligence officials say Fatah and Hamas have reconciled and will be setting a date for new elections.

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Gabe Kahn., 27/04/11 19:13 | updated: 21:56

Fatah-Hamas Unity Rally

Israel news photo: Wikimedia Commons

Egyptian officials claim delegations from Fatah and Hamas have hammered out an agreement to form an interim Palestinian Authority unity government and fix a date for elections, Reuters reports.

"The consultations resulted in full understandings over all points of discussions, including setting up an interim agreement with specific tasks and to set a date for election," Egyptian intelligence said Wednesday in a statement.

A Hamas delegation was reported to be in Cairo on Tuesday for talks on Fatah-Hamas reconciliation.

The Hamas delegation met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil el-Araby and members of the ruling military council in Cairo while, at the same time, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas sat down with an Egyptian diplomat in Ramallah.

According to WAFA, Abbas told Egyptian Ambassador to the PA Yasser Othman, "Egypt is the backbone of our people's aspirations toward having an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital."

Whether the reported reconciliation between bitter rivals Hamas and Fatah is sustainable is a dubious proposition.

The Fatah-Hamas rivalry became entrenched after Hamas won big in the last PA elections, which resulted in Abbas purging Hamas officials from the PA stronghold in Ramallah and Hamas violently seizing control of its own stronghold in Gaza.